Allison Vince creates paintings and illustrations in a sketchy, ethereal style, utilizing both narrow, frenetic lines and drippy diffusions of watercolour. The artist also uses unusual media – makeup – to create works in a similar style.

The way that Allison combines translucent, pooling and dripping watercolour with quick, controlled line art makes for a really cool visual effect. Her illustration gallery is where Allison’s expertise with line art really shines. Creatures both real and fantastic are drawn with elongated, sharpened teeth and eyes layered over eyes, creating the feeling that the drawing is vibrating with energy.

Allison makes interesting use of makeup in her series of cosmetic paintings. Where other artists such as Amarie Bergman have used cosmetics to achieve an abstract colouration, Allison creates portraits of women and other representational images using a variety of makeup staples such as mascara, blush and lipstick. Sometimes she combines these media with oil paints to create a subtly intriguing look.

About the author

Dallas Jeffs is the Editor of Artist Run Website's blog. She is a recent graduate of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, where she studied Critical and Cultural Practices. She is passionate about talking and writing about art, and sharing that interest with others. In her studio practice she is a painter, but she considers herself an art writer and educator foremost. If you like art, books and culture with a science fiction twist, check out Dallas' personal blog, HappySpaceNoises